Responsive educational proposals to develop skills to meet the demands of Industry 4.0 have become imperative to guarantee inclusive, equitable, and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, also reducing the negative impact of COVID-19 and the major post-pandemic social issues. This article analyzes which components of Education 4.0 have been considered in 21st century skills frameworks and identifies the teaching and learning methods and key stakeholders impacted. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) with research questions to highlight studies that address 21st century frameworks worldwide, identifying which teaching-–earning strategies contain 4.0 components, their learning dimensions, and the targeted stakeholders. The findings allowed us to identify opportunities to create or improve 21st century skills frameworks with the required Education 4.0 components to develop future skills. Our study revealed the absence of these frameworks for teachers and schools. Most are oriented toward students, developing competencies through the dimensions of character, meta-learning, and linking active learning teaching strategies. This work presents studies incorporating innovative educational practices and the core Education 4.0 components. It concludes with a reflection on creating educational models to develop complex-reasoning competencies and auto-systemic thinking to support problem-solving and address social needs.

In the context of rapid technological advancements and the increasing availability of Open Educational Resources (OER), there is a growing need to foster complex thinking skills in higher education. The study aims to characterize OER platforms that facilitate the development of such skills, grounded in UNESCO’s recommendations and the evolving definitions of complex thinking. Utilizing a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), the research focuses on three key questions: the type of open license allowing 5R activities, the technical options based on the ALMS Framework, and the sub-competencies of complex thinking that can be nurtured through OER. The study identifies and categorizes key platforms conducive to the development of complex thinking skills, namely innovative, critical, scientific, and systemic thinking. These platforms are analyzed based on their licensing types and technical capabilities. Findings indicate that most of the platforms studied support 5R activities under Creative Commons licenses, require advanced editing skills, and more than half address multiple subcompetencies of complex thinking. The study concludes that the adaptation, reuse, and redistribution of OER can significantly contribute to fostering complex thinking skills, aligning educational practices with 21st-century demands. Recommendations include the development of frameworks by higher education institutions to normalize OER platforms and meet students’ needs, as well as future research to assess user behavior and sustainability of these platforms.

La integración de las tecnologías en la educación trae consigo cambios organizacionales no solo en las aulas tradicionales, sino también en las plataformas digitales, e invita a ubicar oportunidades para la innovación educativa. El objetivo de este artículo es identificar la percepción de 206 participantes de un programa internacional de Educación Abierta (EA) y aportar en las recomendaciones de la UNESCO (2019) para la educación y la ciencia abierta, con posibilidades de habilitadores tecnológicos. Las preguntas guía fueron ¿cuáles son los retos, casos y experiencias que los participantes perciben como impulsores de la EA? ¿De qué manera las tecnologías pueden favorecer la EA en el marco de las recomendaciones de la UNESCO? Se siguió un método mixto paralelo, con una primera fase de análisis de datos cualitativos y cuantitativos con instrumento de percepción aplicado a los participantes, y una segunda fase de búsqueda de literatura para ubicar investigaciones que utilizan tecnologías en la EA y aportar un esquema de habilitadores tecnológicos. Los resultados fueron: (a) los mayores retos percibidos son “Impulsar la cultura de acceso abierto” y “Promover la cooperación internacional”; (b) destacan 46 aportaciones de participantes con casos para impulsar la EA; (c) aporte de seis estudios de investigación para impulsar las recomendaciones de la UNESCO con tecnologías; y, (d) se plantea un esquema de clasificación propio de habilitadores tecnológicos 4.0 para la educación. Este artículo pretende ser de interés para comunidades educativas, ministerios de educación y ciencia, investigadores y formadores interesados en la innovación educativa.

Technological change drives a constant cycle of adaptation in learning systems, especially within Engineering Education and ICT fields. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) introduces both challenges and opportunities for improving educational processes. This article presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 51 peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, covering the period from January 2021 to February 2025. The review investigates data-driven approaches combined with AI across four educational domains: learning, teaching, assessment, and academic administration. Results show that assessment is the most frequently targeted area, particularly through predictive modeling. However, there is a critical need for AI architectures that support Task-specific cognitive analysis. The limited adoption of mixed-methods research raises concerns about bias and restricts deeper pedagogical understanding. Advancing digital transformation in higher education requires aligning AI integration, data governance, and learning analytics with pedagogical models grounded in social justice and equity. The study concludes by highlighting the potential of Generative AI to enhance the interpretability of analytics and foster intelligent, inclusive educational ecosystems. These findings provide valuable guidance for decision-makers seeking to implement digital learning products through evidence-based, data-driven strategies.

Validated instruments enable strategic decision-making in an increasingly complex technological environment. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) should have data measuring technological maturity and readiness for cyber-physical environments, crucial to leading digital transformation and sustainable development. This study presents the validation of an instrument designed to assess academicians' perceptions of the technological maturity and digital transformation readiness of HEIs. The scale dimensions were constructed and validated in three steps: (1) operationalization of the study variables and scale development, (2) content validation through a nine-expert judgment panel with Aiken's V, and (3) factor exploratory analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis using Cronbach's Alpha method. The validation yielded three main findings: Aiken’s V coefficient yielded a value of (> 0.82), indicating substantial agreement for the content evaluation of nine experts; reliability testing produced a Cronbach’s alpha of .957, demonstrating excellent internal consistency. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure was .919, confirming the questionnaire's suitability for 19 items. Four critical dimensions were established: (1) Cyber-Physical Systems, (2) Educational platforms and data and analytics, (3) Organizational platforms, and (4) Continuity and security plans. These results validate the instrument as a robust tool for diagnosing digital maturity in university contexts, effectively capturing the proposed dimensions essential for educational innovation. The future work to evolve this instrument could shed light on the roadmap for incorporating technological enablers, aligning vocational training with the challenges of Industry 4.0, and supported by predictive AI models that allow the creation of solid governance to lead the digital evolution.